Some famous buildings and their story : $b being the results of recent research in London and elsewhere

Description

"Some Famous Buildings and Their Story" by Alfred W. Clapham and Walter H. Godfrey is a collection of architectural-historical studies written in the early 20th century. The volume presents new research on notable English buildings—especially in and around London—combining documentary evidence, plans, and photographs to clarify how palaces, monasteries, fortifications, and theatres were designed, altered, and sometimes lost. The opening of this volume sets the aim: to share rigorous yet readable studies that add “new light” to local and national architectural history, followed by a contents list that spans Tudor palaces, London monastic houses, the Tower of London, early theatres, and more. It then launches into substantial essays: a reappraisal of Nonsuch Palace, identifying a neglected north-west view and reconstructing its two courts, Italianate timber-and-plaster façades with reliefs, and banqueting house; a reconstruction of the Fortune Theatre from its 1600 contract and the Swan drawing, detailing its square yard, tiered galleries, roofed stage, and inner and upper stages; a developmental reading of the Tower of London from reused Roman walls through Norman, Henry III, and Tudor works, highlighting the White Tower’s chapel, key gatehouses, and later Wren additions; and an analysis of Eltham Palace using Elizabethan plans to map its moat, hall, and chapel. It closes this opening stretch by tracing the origin of the domestic hall to monastic models—especially aisled infirmary and guest halls—rather than to Norman keeps. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Subjects

• Architecture -- England
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